Overexpression of wild-type or mutants forms of CEBPA alter normal human hematopoiesis

Leukemia. 2012 Jul;26(7):1537-46. doi: 10.1038/leu.2012.38. Epub 2012 Feb 10.

Abstract

CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-α (C/EBPα/CEBPA) is mutated in approximately 8% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in both familial and sporadic AML and, with FLT3 and NPM1, has received most attention as a predictive marker of outcome in patients with normal karyotype disease. Mutations clustering to either the N- or C-terminal (N- and C-ter) portions of the protein have different consequences on the protein function. In familial cases, the N-ter form is inherited with patients exhibiting long latency period before the onset of overt disease, typically with the acquisition of a C-ter mutation. Despite the essential insights murine models provide the functional consequences of wild-type C/EBPα in human hematopoiesis and how different mutations are involved in AML development have received less attention. Our data underline the critical role of C/EBPα in human hematopoiesis and demonstrate that C/EBPα mutations (alone or in combination) are insufficient to convert normal human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells into leukemic-initiating cells, although individually each altered normal hematopoiesis. It provides the first insight into the effects of N- and C-ter mutations acting alone and to the combined effects of N/C double mutants. Our results mimicked closely what happens in CEBPA mutated patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Blotting, Western
  • CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Cell Cycle
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / pathology*
  • Colony-Forming Units Assay
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic*
  • Hematopoiesis / physiology*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / genetics
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Mice, SCID
  • Mutation / genetics*
  • Myeloid Cells / cytology
  • Myeloid Cells / metabolism
  • Nucleophosmin
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • beta 2-Microglobulin / physiology
  • fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3

Substances

  • CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins
  • CEBPA protein, human
  • NPM1 protein, human
  • Npm1 protein, mouse
  • RNA, Messenger
  • beta 2-Microglobulin
  • Nucleophosmin
  • FLT3 protein, human
  • fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3